The French Resistance

Blue Hat

The French Resistance When Marshal Henri- Philippe Petain came to power in France he immediately began negotiations with Adolf Hitler and on 22nd June 1940 signed an armistice with Germany.

The French Resistance The agreement divided France into occupied and unoccupied The occupied zone was run by the Germans. The unoccupied zone was run by the French government at Vichy under Petain.

White Hat

The French Resistance Some members of the French Army led by General Charles De Gaulle managed to escape to England. Soon after arriving he made a speech where he argued that : "whatever happens, the flame of French Resistance must not and will not be extinguished."

The French Resistance At first, humiliated by Germany's easy victory, few French people sought to continue the war. There were scattered acts of sabotage but these people were unorganized and in most cases were quickly arrested by the authorities.

The French Resistance After the war General Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote: "Throughout France the Resistance had been of inestimable value in the campaign. Without their great assistance the liberation of France would have consumed a much longer time and meant greater losses to ourselves."

The French Resistance Many of them were former soldiers, others were former socialists and communists who had fled the Gestapo.

The French Resistance Many of them hid in the forested regions, especially in the unoccupied zone.

Yellow Hat

The French Resistance Boosted the morale of the French People (propaganda value) Created a governmental structure post-occupation Created leaders amongst the French Created a counter to possible historical recollections of WWII for future generations Inspired later generations of Resistance fighters The downed fliers who were saved by the resistance fighters

Black Hat

The French Resistance The whole military "impact" of the French resistance was less than the impact of RAF pilots in one night. The French resistance fighters blew up bridges, derailed trains, directed the British in the bombing of German troop trains, kidnapped and killed German army officers, and ambushed German troops. The collaboration of the French resistance with the British was a violation of the French Armistice Operating the escape lines for the downed fliers lead to many deaths

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Interesting Facts Samuel Beckett Simone de Beauvoir Jean-Paul Sartre Albert Camus People who were in the Resistance included; Maurice Merleau-Ponty

Interesting Facts Samuel Beckett Simone de Beauvoir Jean-Paul Sartre Albert Camus People who were in the Resistance included; Maurice Merleau-Ponty

Interesting Facts A number of underground newspapers and magazines were created by the resistance

Interesting Facts On 5th June, 1944, General Dwight D. Eisenhower asked the BBC sent out coded messages to the resistance asking them to carry out acts of resistance during the D-day landings in order to help Allied forces establish a beachhead on the Normandy coast.

Green Hat Yellow HatBlack Hat P MI

Red Hat

Emotional Phase Emotional and people-oriented aspects of Evacuation Imagine what it would be like for a member of the Resistance? Imagine what it would be like for a member of the Vichy ? Were they right to fight ?

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Summary of New Facts What did we all learn together ?

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Finish Off Thank you very much for your time, and patience, I hope you have a nice weekend. Damian